Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
  • E01B35/00—Applications of measuring apparatus or devices for track-building purposes
  • E01B35/12—Applications of measuring apparatus or devices for track-building purposes for measuring movement of the track or of the components thereof under rolling loads, e.g. depression of sleepers, increase of gauge
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B61—RAILWAYS
  • B61L—GUIDING RAILWAY TRAFFIC; ENSURING THE SAFETY OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC
  • B61L23/00—Control, warning or like safety means along the route or between vehicles or trains
  • B61L23/04—Control, warning or like safety means along the route or between vehicles or trains for monitoring the mechanical state of the route
  • B61L23/042—Track changes detection
  • B61L23/047—Track or rail movements

Definitions

• aspects of the present invention generally relate to monitoring condition of a railways installation such as rail track structure and more specifically relates to measuring a physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track for maintenance determination.
• Track work of railway tracks includes tracks or rails connected to a track structure with metal plates. It is known that poorly maintained track work can lead to a higher number of failures both caused by physical movement of the track work which causes adjustments to be negated and also due to continuous movement that can cause fatigue of components resulting in component failure.
• a system for monitoring condition of a railways installation such as a points machine is known. Although monitoring of a railway installation such as a points machine is known, prior art monitoring has been of a limited scope and typically has been limited to measurement of vibration. Prior art monitoring generally has been useful for detecting faults in infrastructure subsequent to failure of the monitored elements. Analysis of points machine faults reported over a period has shown that significant fault modes are not failures of the points machine itself (e.g. motor problems), but are due to problems with mechanical alignment of the monitored installation, including the track.
• aspects of the present invention relate to determining a track displacement as an indicator of an operational condition of the track for maintenance purposes by continuously monitoring in real time condition of a railways installation such as a railway track.
• a sensor coupled to a readout device may measure a physical displacement of a track in a vertical direction during use of the track relative to its nominal position and issue an alarm in the form of a warning signal to a central system or a hand-held device for undertaking a maintenance operation to correct a track structure.
• a failure occurrence can be preempted and would be safely handled by embodiments of a track monitoring and warning system of the present invention.
• a track monitoring and warning system can be configured to be installed in different environments where such track monitoring and warning is needed, for example, in railway installations.
• a measurement system to determine physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track.
• the system comprises a transducer configured to be mounted at a connection point between a track and a sleeper of a track structure.
• the transducer measures a physical parameter of the track when a wheel of a train traverses over the track.
• the system further comprises a device operatively coupled to the transducer.
• the device determines vertical track displacement from the physical parameter measured by the transducer.
• the device generates a warning signal indicative of a degradation or failure of the track structure when the measured track displacement exceeds a predetermined threshold.
• a method of determining a physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track includes measuring a physical parameter of a track coupled to a track structure using a sensor when a wheel of a train passes over the track, calculating vertical track displacement based on the measured physical parameter, determining degradation in condition of the track or track structure based on the vertical track displacement, and generating a warning signal based on the degradation in condition of the track or track structure.
• an apparatus to measure a physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track.
• the apparatus includes a sensor configured to measure a vertical displacement of a track coupled to a track structure when a wheel of a train traverses over the track with respect to a rest state of the track as a measure of an operational condition of the track.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a measurement system for use at railway tracks in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of railway tracks displacement measurement in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a monitoring and warning system in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a hand-held device in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method for determining a track displacement to monitor an operational condition of the track and track structure for maintaining the track and track structure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method for determining physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
• a monitoring and warning system for tracking failure indications in a railway track by continuously monitoring in real time condition of a railways installation such as a railway track.
• the system comprises a sensor configured to be mounted on a connection point between a track and a sleeper of a track structure.
• the system further comprises a device coupled to the sensor. In response to a determination of a vertical displacement of the track, the device to generate a warning signal indicative of a possible potential problem with the tracks or the track structure.
• a safety system for railway tracks being used by rail traffic which crosses over the tracks laid for plying trains on them.
• a warning is provided in advance of a track displacement beyond an acceptable level so a maintenance action can be initiated prior to occurrence of a failure of the tracks or the track structure.
• a measurement system to determine physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track.
• the system comprises a transducer configured to be mounted at a connection point between a track and a sleeper of a track structure.
• the transducer measures a physical parameter of the track when a wheel of a train traverses over the track.
• the system further comprises a device operatively coupled to the transducer.
• the device determines vertical track displacement from the physical parameter measured by the transducer.
• the device generates a warning signal indicative of a degradation or failure of the track structure when the measured track displacement exceeds a predetermined threshold.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a measurement system 10 for use with railway tracks 15 in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• the measurement system 10 comprises a sensor 20 configured to be mounted on a connection point on a metal plate 25 between the railway track 15 and a sleeper 30 of a rail track structure 35.
• the measurement system 10 further comprises a readout device 40 coupled to the sensor 20.
• a DC voltage power source (VDC) 45 may power the sensor 20.
• VDC DC voltage power source
• the measurement system 10 continuously monitor in real time condition of a railways installation such as the railway track 15.
• the senor 20 may be configured to measure a physical parameter such as acceleration along with time at the same time to provide a measure of a displacement of the railway track 15 as shown in Equation (Eq.) 1 below.
• a vibration amplitude may also be measured as displacement, velocity, or acceleration.
• the vibration amplitude measurements may either be relative, or absolute.
• Displacement (x) measurement is the distance or amplitude displaced from a resting position.
• the SI unit for distance is the meter (m), although common industrial standards include mm and mils.
• Velocity ( ⁇ / ⁇ ) is the rate of change of displacement with respect to change in time.
• the SI unit for velocity is meters per second (m/s), although common industrial standards include mm/s and inches/s.
• Acceleration ( ⁇ / ⁇ ) is the rate of change of velocity with respect to change in time.
• the SI unit for acceleration is meters per second 2 (m/s 2 ), although the common industrial standard is the "g".
• acceleration vibration measurements may be made using an accelerometer.
• the senor 20 may be an accelerometer that comprises a housing, mass, a piezoelectric material and signal leads.
• a time measurement device to measure time may be coupled or integrated with the sensor 20.
• AREMA American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association
• the function and use of such equipment for a railroad application are well known in the art and are not discussed further.
• Examples of the sensor 20 include a transducer that measures an acceleration or a g-force and can be used to provide a measure of a displacement of the railway track 15.
• a transducer is an accelerometer such as model HS-422S (4- 20mA acceleration output via Ml 2 connector) available from Hansford Sensors Ltd. of Artisan, Hillbottom Road, Sands Industrial Estate, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP 12 4HJ UK. It has a vibration transmitter (loop powered sensor) for use with a programmable logic controller (PLC) using a 2-pin MS connector 'g' sensor PLC interface.
• the transducer of the sensor 20 may include a magnet 47 to attach to the metal plate 25.
• the senor 20 may include a wireless communication interface to wirelessly communicate with the readout device 40 instead of using cables.
• the readout device 40 may include also a wireless communication interface to wirelessly communicate with the sensor 20.
• Both the sensor 20 and the readout device 40 may employ a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Zigbee wireless standard protocols for data communications and messaging.
• Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity
• Bluetooth Wireless Fidelity
• Zigbee wireless standard protocols for data communications and messaging.
• Examples of the readout device 40 include a datalogger having a display and a user interface including a touch screen, switches, buttons and dials.
• the readout device 40 in one embodiment may include a microcontroller and a memory and firmware and/or software to communicate with the sensor 20 and process rail track related data for display.
• the readout device 40 may include a speaker to generate an alarm being audible in nature and a LED light for visual indication. It should be appreciated that several other components may be included in the readout device 40. However, the function and use of such equipment for a railroad application are well known in the art and are not discussed further.
• the readout device 40 may communicate with a central monitoring system to control, receive and process rail track maintenance related operations.
• the readout device 40 may be a wired or a wireless device capable of outdoor use in the field.
• the readout device 40 may generate a warning signal 50 indicative of a possible problem with the railway tracks 15 or the rail track structure 35 such as a poor ballast or formation leading to pumping of the track 15.
• the warning signal 50 may be an audible alarm for an operator of the readout device 40.
• a software alarm may be triggered in a central monitoring system.
• the sensor 20 may measure a movement of itself to record the displacement data as the vertical displacement of the track in a datalogger. In one embodiment however, the sensor 20 optically measures the vertical displacement of the track 15 with a laser by detecting how much the track 15 moves down when the train passes over the track 15.
• FIG. 2 it illustrates a schematic diagram of railway tracks 200 in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• the railway track 200 may vertically displace downwards due to a huge load of a train when a wheel of the train travels on a top surface of the railway track 200.
• a vertical displacement 205 in a down direction 210 may occur for the railway track 200 when a train passes over the railway track 200.
• Such track displacement may be 1 inch, which may be an acceptable level.
• the vertical displacement 205 may be more than 1 inch and beyond the acceptable level as this could lead to a failure of the track structure or other equipment monitoring the railway installations.
• embodiments of the present invention provide a monitoring and warning system which uses the measurement system 10 of FIG. 1 to determine a maintenance action in advance to an occurrence of a failure of the tracks or the track structure.
• the readout device 40 of FIG. 1 may generate the warning signal 50 indicative of a possible problem with the railway track 200 or the track structure.
• FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a monitoring and warning system 300 in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• the monitoring and warning system 300 comprises a transducer 305 to measure a physical parameter indicative of the vertical displacement 205 of the railway track 200, as set forth above with respect to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.
• the "monitoring and warning system 300” in addition to the exemplary hardware description in FIGs.
• the monitoring and warning system 300 refers to a system that is configured to process radio and/or data signals, operated by a controller (including but not limited to a sensor control unit, a wireless control unit, a track control unit, and others).
• the monitoring and warning system 300 can include multiple interacting systems, whether located together or apart, that together perform processes as described herein.
• the transducer 305 may be integrated with a point monitoring sensor or a point monitoring system 310 deployed to monitor various parameters of a point machine.
• the point monitoring system 310 may include a distributed array of sensors adapted to gather data regarding the status of elements of the installation with which the sensors are associated.
• the point monitoring system 310 may utilize advanced algorithms to process the data for a variety of purposes including predicting failure of equipment, developing efficient maintenance schedules and managing railway assets in general.
• the transducer 305 may be coupled to an amplifier 315, which feeds the displacement data into a datalogger 320.
• the datalogger 320 (also called data recorder) is an electronic device that records data over time or in relation to location with the transducer 305.
• the datalogger 320 may be based on a digital processor.
• the datalogger 320 may be a battery powered device and equipped with an analog to digital converter (ADC) 325, a micro-controller 330, internal memory EEPROM 335 for data storage, a local device interface (keypad 340, LCD display 345), and a PC interface 350.
• ADC analog to digital converter
• the datalogger 320 may interface with a personal computer, and use software to activate the datalogger 320 and view and analyze the collected track displacement data.
• the datalogger 320 may be programmable in one embodiment.
• One of the primary benefits of using the datalogger 320 is its ability to automatically collect displacement data 355 on a 24-hour/7-days basis. Upon activation, the datalogger 320 is deployed and left unattended to measure and record information for the duration of a monitoring period. This allows for a comprehensive, accurate picture of the track displacement being monitored.
• track displacement of railway tracks may be centrally monitored and controlled.
• the datalogger 320 may communicate with a central monitoring system 365 to control, receive and process rail track maintenance related operations.
• a software alarm may be triggered in the central monitoring system 365 to initiate an automatic maintenance action based on an electronic maintenance determination done per a previously set criterion within the central monitoring system 365.
• an event monitoring system may be used to produce a log of time stamped 'events' showing a status of various controls and indications which can then be analyzed by engineers to ascertain if the monitoring and warning system 300 was performing appropriately.
• an event browser and graphical display options may enable events stored by the datalogger 320 to be converted into a visual representation such as a warning signal 370 of the monitoring activity, consistent with what would be seen on a control panel.
• a client software may provide a graphical interface to monitor tracks and track structure and performance with light indicators to show instantly which sites or assets are in alarm or alert.
• an analysis may be done of real time track performance and the displacement data 355 collected by the monitoring and warning system 300 using data acquisition hardware plus software.
• Tack movement profiles may be recorded by the central monitoring system 365 to be plotted against time for detailed analysis.
• a graphical tool may be used to visualize the displacement data 355 and assist in failure diagnosis.
• a detailed trend detector may be used for the displacement data 355 measured over a relatively long period of time - e.g. hours to months. Where alarms are created as a result of routine maintenance they can be handled using a client application or by sending a message to a computer server. From an alarm list, individual alarm events may be selected and acknowledged.
• the central monitoring system 365 may utilize an email server tool to automatically produce an email report of active alarms.
• a set of dedicated reporting tools may enable maintainers to display and export specific parameters relating to rail track performance and develop their own custom reports. Examples include number of operations, failures, alarms or irregularities for a particular track structure.
• the central monitoring system 365 may include integrated automation functions for optimum dispatching and efficient operations management on lines and at stations.
• An automatic train control system may continuously monitor all movements of the trains on lines and at stations and provide safe signaling.
• Automatic functions may support the operating personnel and drivers, making high speeds possible and enabling the line and network resources to be utilized to maximum capacity.
• the readout device 40 or the datalogger 320 coupled to the transducer 305 is a hand-held device capable of monitoring the vertical displacement 205 of the railway track 200 for a maintenance determination.
• the datalogger 320 is coupled to the transducer 305 such that the transducer 305 measures a movement of itself to record the displacement data 355 as the vertical displacement 205 of the railway track 200 in the datalogger 320.
• FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a hand-held device 400 in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
• the hand-held device 400 may be deployed in lieu of using the central monitoring system 365 for monitoring the railway track 200 of FIG. 2 as a standalone device by a track operator.
• the hand-held device 400 may be used in conjunction with the central monitoring system 365.
• the hand-held device 400 may comprise a controller 405 coupled to a storage device 410, a transceiver 415 and a user interface 420.
• the storage device 410 may store a threshold value 425 of a maximum vertical displacement acceptable by the track operator and/or industry standard for a safe operation of the railway track 200.
• the transceiver 415 may use an antenna 430 to communicate with the transducer 305 of FIG. 3.
• the transducer 305 may include a transceiver of its own compatible with the wireless communications received from the transceiver 415.
• the user interface 420 may enable the track operator to interact with the hand-held device 400.
• the user interface 420 may include a keypad, buttons, dials etc.
• the hand-held device 400 may further comprise a display 435 to display a magnitude value 440 from the collected displacement data 355.
• the controller 405 may compare the magnitude value 440 to the threshold value 425 and when the magnitude value 440 exceeds the threshold value 425, it may generate an alarm 450.
• the alarm 450 may be an audible alarm or a visual alarm or a combination of both.
• FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method 500 for determining a track displacement to monitor an operational condition of the track and track structure for maintaining the track and track structure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
• the transducer 305 may be mounted at a connection point between the railway track 15 and the sleeper 30.
• a physical parameter such as vibration may be measured by the transducer 305 when a train travels on the railway track 15, as shown in step 510.
• the datalogger 320 may log in step 515 the displacement data 355 based on the determination of the track displacement recorded in step 510.
• the hand-held device 400 may compare the magnitude value 440 to the threshold value 425 and when the magnitude value 440 exceeds the threshold value 425, it may generate the alarm 450 in step 525. Otherwise, the monitoring and warning system 300 may continue to loop back to make a repetitive check of a level of the magnitude value 440 relative to the threshold value 425. At step 530, based on the alarm 450 generated in step 525 a maintenance action may be initiated to correct the track structure 35.
• FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method 600 for determining physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
• the method 600 of determining physical displacement of a railway track during use of the railway track in step 605 includes measuring a physical parameter of a track coupled to a track structure using a sensor when a wheel of a train passes over the track.
• vertical track displacement may be calculated based on the measured physical parameter.
• Degradation in condition of the track or track structure is determined based on the vertical track displacement in step 615.
• a warning signal is generated based on the degradation in condition of the track or track structure in step 620.
• Embodiments of the present invention provide for a continuous measurement of track displacement caused by the traffic of trains.
• Such a continuous monitoring of the railway track and rail track structure may reveal deterioration of the track structure particularly at points or switches where such deterioration can result in failures.
• This type of measurement is suitable for automatic recording and monitoring unlike vibration which requires analysis and processing to reveal changes.
• To achieve a continuous measurement of track displacement specifically engineered sensors that perform the conversion from vibration to displacement are provided. With these sensors, suitable data acquisition systems are provided as monitoring systems to record the displacements. These systems can be deployed with point monitoring systems as track deflection detection may be added as a parameter to be monitored.
• any examples or illustrations given herein are not to be regarded in any way as restrictions on, limits to, or express definitions of, any term or terms with which they are utilized. Instead, these examples or illustrations are to be regarded as being described with respect to one particular embodiment and as illustrative only. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any term or terms with which these examples or illustrations are utilized will encompass other embodiments which may or may not be given therewith or elsewhere in the specification and all such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of that term or terms.
• Embodiments described herein can be implemented in the form of control logic in software or hardware or a combination of both.
• the control logic may be stored in an information storage medium, such as a computer-readable medium, as a plurality of instructions adapted to direct an information processing device to perform a set of steps disclosed in the various embodiments. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the invention.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Machines For Laying And Maintaining Railways (AREA)
• Train Traffic Observation, Control, And Security (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=55073142

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (5)

Citations (6)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 2015
  • 2015-12-17 EP EP15820969.2A patent/EP3390723B1/en active Active
  • 2015-12-17 PL PL15820969T patent/PL3390723T3/pl unknown
  • 2015-12-17 WO PCT/US2015/066226 patent/WO2017105451A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2015-12-17 DK DK15820969.2T patent/DK3390723T3/da active
  • 2015-12-17 ES ES15820969T patent/ES2782084T3/es active Active
  • 2015-12-17 US US16/063,158 patent/US10774478B2/en active Active
  • 2015-12-17 AU AU2015417428A patent/AU2015417428B2/en active Active

Patent Citations (6)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events